Students gathering in front of the North Entrance of the Cascade Building

Latest FAFSA Delay Updates

Updated: July 7, 2024

The Financial Aid Office will access the 2024-2025 FAFSA and WASFA forms starting June 10. To process summer term award offers, the Financial Aid Office will be closed from July 8 to July 12, temporarily suspending in-person and Zoom office hours. Notifications about award offers or missing documents will be sent through your ctcLink Message Center, so check it regularly for updates. During the closure, if you have a critical need, email financialaid@pierce.ctc.edu for assistance, but expect a few days for a response. The Financial Aid email will be monitored regularly to address questions and concerns.

May 20, 2024 Update

The U. S. Department of Education has announced a delay in processing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It plans to send schools FAFSA data for individual students by May. This extraordinary delay is approximately five months behind a typical year's schedule, so it will impact both students and schools. We will not be able to send financial aid offer letters for 2024-2025 until in mid-June and will begin with enrolled summer quarter students.

If applying for financial aid is an important part of your plan to attend Pierce College, please check back often for updates on the 2024-2025 FAFSA delay.

What This Means For You

  • Schools encourage students to complete the FAFSA to determine eligibility for Federal Student Aid. This includes possible eligibility for Federal grants and Federal Direct Loans.
  • This nationwide challenge affects all schools processing Federal Student Aid, so the financial aid offices will be balancing their efforts across student populations
  • Washington State Community and Technical College computer systems require updates and testing before they are ready to issue financial aid offers. Once the school receives the first batches of FAFSA data files, it will be mid-June before the first financial aid offers are provided to enrolled summer quarter students. Fall quarter start students' award offers will be sent second.

Summary of What to Expect

  • Once you submit your FAFSA, as a confirmation, you should receive a "We've Received Your FAFSA Form" confirmation email from the U.S. Department of Education. If a Student Aid Index or SAI (formerly EFC) can be calculated, the email will include an estimated SAI. This email is only being sent to students, not parents (for dependent students).
  • FAFSA Submission Summaries (FSS) (formerly the Student Aid Report or SAR), which include the SAI, will not be available by May. If the FSS or SAI is needed for a scholarship, check with the scholarship organization to see what documentation is acceptable and what date it is needed.
  • Once we receive FAFSA data at Pierce College, we will need time to load student records, test our systems, and generate financial aid offers. We will not be able to send financial aid offer letters for 2024-2025 until in mid-June and will begin with enrolled summer quarter students.

Resources

What If I Have a Question?

Contact the Pierce College Financial Aid Office. We are here to help!

The Financial Aid Office has suspended in-person and Zoom customer service from July 8 to July 12 for focused FAFSA/WASFA processing. Check the FAFSA Delay Page and your ctcLink message center for more information. 

Email

financialaid@pierce.ctc.edu